Photo: Future of Globalisation

The section Future of Globalisation in this blog provides a platform for debates on current world economic issues, global power shifts and views on the roles of formal and informal global governance institutions. It is an initiative of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS). The blog posts, appearing on every first and third Wednesday each month, are written by researchers from IDOS and our international partners, amongst them numerous prestigious think tanks from rising powers. In this blog, the authors of the contributions represent only their personal opinion. While aiming at cutting-edge research content, the blog intends to reach a broader audience of researchers, government officials and journalists. With this blog we carry on discussions that had initially been launched in 2016 as part of the Think20 process during the German G20 presidency. In 2018, we aim at continuing the debate about the role of the G20 broadening the focus of discussion to institutional and thematic matters of global economic governance.

If you are interested to contribute, get in touch with Axel Berger and Sven Grimm of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) via futureofglobalisation@idos-research.de.

Change or Crumble! Germany Needs to Reposition its International Cooperation

Image: Tracks going to the horizon

©Brigitte makes custom works from your photos, thanks a lot on Pixabay

As Angela Merkel’s 16 years at the helm of the German government come to a close, Germany’s international cooperation for sustainable development seems, at first sight, to be in good shape. During her tenure, German official development assistance (ODA) more than tripled, reaching $28 billion in 2020 and putting Germany second only to the United States ($34 billion) and well ahead of the United Kingdom ($19 billion) and the EU Institutions ($17 billion).

Four Ways the German Government Can Improve Development Effectiveness

Photo: Bundestag architecture

©Vadim Derksen, Pixabay

Over the last decade, Germany emerged as a leading provider of development finance. Since 2016, Germany has consistently been the second largest bilateral provider of official development assistance (ODA), and in 2020, it was the only G7 member to meet the 0.7 percent ODA/GNI spending target due to its generous increases in ODA in response to COVID-19. While Germany continues to provide a large quantity of ODA, it often ranks in the middle on comparative measures of development quality (for example: 2021 Quality of ODA index, Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation monitoring, Aid Transparency Index, and AidDATA’s Listening to Leaders survey)…

The Review of the Resident Coordinator System: Give UNDS reform a chance!

Image: Picture of the UNO General Assembly Hall

Photo by hibino on Flickr (altered), https://www.flickr.com/photos/hibino/51544029/

These days, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly is tasked with fine-tuning a centrepiece of the reform: the strengthened Resident Coordinator system – key driver of a more cohesive UN Development System (UNDS) working towards a common agenda. Negotiations have yet to reach a break-through.…

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment – proceed with caution

Photo: Power plant from above, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

Photo by marcinjozwiak on Pixabay

Today, the European Commission presented its “Fit-for-55” proposal which includes a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The CBAM would impose a levy on imports into the EU based on their CO2 content from 2023. As part of the European Green Deal, Commission President von der Leyen had announced this instrument two years ago in order to be able to implement more ambitious climate policy targets without energy-intensive sectors shifting their emissions abroad (carbon leakage). Following the Commission’s proposal, the CBAM must now be spelled out in detail by the EU member states and the European Parliament. Going forward, it is key to ensure that the CBAM is effective in fighting climate change, that it is WTO compatible and, above all, that it has as few ramifications as possible for foreign policy and for developing countries in particular.…